Up here in Minnesota we had a case where an off duty policeman succombed to a fit of road rage and confronted the other motorist (who had his wife and kid in the vehicle) using his service weapon to accentuate his point, WITHOUT identifying himself as a cop. The motorist shot him 3 times, non-fatally, and the cop tried to press charges against the motorist, but was ultimately subjected to criminal charges himself. I'm just shocked that a professional would pull his weapon in a case like that. I've known guys that worked their whole careers in law enforcement and never had to draw their weapon, and I'll bet all of 'em were extremely angry at times without losing control. My dad carried a loaded .38 Colt Cobra in the car always (as a pilot with his own planes, he became deputized,primarily for air searches); the only time I saw it in action was when he simply placed the holstered gun on the dash of our family vehicle when he had to leave us to find a radiator hose. A coupla drunks stumbled toward the car,seeing a woman with some very young kids. When they saw the gun, they straightened up and changed course.

grady wrote:I would not hesitate for a second to put a bullet in somebody if I felt my Life or my Child's life was in jeopardy. Then, I would go in front of the Judge with all sincerity and tell him that I would do it again if I were put in the same predicament.

I know you've got your principles and all, but you'd probably do better for yourself if you at least acted a little remorseful. I don't know that the "they had it coming" defense gets you too far in a court of law.

Anyone prone to road or any other sort of rage had better leave the weapon at home.

It should never come out as a threat or "warning." If it ever comes out, it needs to come out shooting, because the only time you're legally justified in drawing it is when you're legally justified if you shoot someone. And if you need to shoot, you'd better not waste time.

I know a guy who was babysittin' when he was about 12 yrs old and shot an intruder in the leg with a hunting rifle. The guy laid in a stairwell bleedin' to death until the cops got there. The kid threw him a belt to tie his leg off and saved him. He said it was kinda weird listening to the guy screamin' away for about 10 minutes. That would make an impression on you as a kid,lol!

ricochet wrote:Anyone prone to road or any other sort of rage had better leave the weapon at home.

It should never come out as a threat or "warning." If it ever comes out, it needs to come out shooting, because the only time you're legally justified in drawing it is when you're legally justified if you shoot someone. And if you need to shoot, you'd better not waste time.

That's right. I never show my gun to anyone.My Wife is the only person that's seen it.

My top rules for gun use are,,

1- always identify what you're going to shoot before raising the gun2- Never let anyone see the gun unless you're going to shoot them3- Don't hesitate, hesitation gets people killed

I s'pose what I was saying about "cocked and locked" really had more to do with people who own firearms and those that actually use them. Police and military should know how to carry cocked and locked. Most common people don't, therefore my caution. Most people don't carry a Colt Commander of similiar weapon like a Glock, which I do. A Glock can only fire if you pull the trigger...duh. Some guys used to carry Ruger Blackhawks firing pin down on a nonempty chamber...dumb. Most people are dumb in that regard. It's not the people who handle guns everyday that should be careful but the ones that don't. Cheers, TB.

Very true. Interestingly, most police are hardly "firearms experts" and seldom shoot beyond the required qualifications. Many amateur shooters are more knowledgeable and proficient with guns than your average cop.

True about the police not being real experts. When Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Utah had that dude show up shooting people and off duty cop took 8 shots at him and missed them all. He did detain the killer until the SLC police came in and shot the kid dead. I carry my gun on my hip every where I go in the "condition one" mode. I handle the gun every day and I shoot it once a month to stay in tune with how it operates. Right now I carry a .22 long rifle semi automatic with hollow points. One in the chamber and 9 in the mag. I chose the small gun for a fews reasons. It's concealable, I can hit what I aim at with in 40 feet of me, if I miss the bullet won't travel thru a wall and hit some one other than what I'm aiming at, and the best reason, if I'm gonna shoot my foot while learning to handle a gun it won't blow my whole foot off. My friends carry larger bores but I'm happy with what I have. I really pray I never use it but if I do I want to hit what needs to be hit. If I am pulling the trigger it's because I am being attacked, not threatened, not looked at badly but attacked. Yes I can carry it in my glove box if I want to because of the permit I have here in Utah. I got pulled over yesterday by the police. When he came to the widow I had both hands on the wheel and told the officer "I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon and I am armed.' He said thanks for telling him, talked with me about my bad driving then let me go with a warning.

A 22lr in either rifle or pistol in one of the most indispensable calibers you can have in your personal arsenal. My first pistol was a Ruger Super Single Six in 22lr and 22 mag and probably still have more fun with that one than any other I've owned.

Am I correct in assuming a .22 will generally be less likely to inflict a fatal wound, but still hit hard enough to discourage an attacker? I'd like that if it worked, I don't think there's many here who would actively wish to take a human life.

maxx england wrote:Am I correct in assuming a .22 will generally be less likely to inflict a fatal wound, but still hit hard enough to discourage an attacker? I'd like that if it worked, I don't think there's many here who would actively wish to take a human life.

Well, there's different ways to look at that.If you just wound somebody and they've got a gun, they're probably going to kill you.You can't count on or predict what someone else is going to do when it's your Life that's at stake.

If anything, smaller calibers are likely to NOT immediately stop someone, but result in death later.

The only point of shooting in self defense is to stop as quickly as possible an attacker bent on causing death or serious injury. The sad fact is, that means use of deadly force, and the possible death of the attacker is a byproduct of stopping him. There are no reliably effective nonlethal weapons suited to the purpose.